Chronicles of Oberin
The Chronicles of Oberin are Seth's writings on the history of Oberin in the times that led to the Black Plague. The text of its final chapter is copied below. The original edition, complete with pictures, can be found here (with an archived version on the wayback here). The Chronicles of Oberin - The Final Chapter Introduction: To whom it may concern, If you are reading this volume than you have found me. Do not fear the magic invested in this tome, it is mostly harmless. Oh, I almost forgot, most beings call me Seth. Do not be fooled by the dashing young man present in your mind’s eye, for I am much older than I appear. In fact, I used to think of myself as master of my world’s magic and destiny. I couldn’t have been more wrong. Perhaps I grew too comfortable in my prowess with a bolt and the justness of the cause or too content with the quality of the subjects of the land. Either way, events quickly spiraled out of control and my world and all I held dear are gone. It’s a pity, to be sure. I guess I should start at the beginning. It’s usually the best place to start. Well, let me rephrase that. I will start at the beginning of the end. Perhaps I will chronicle the death of my friend, King Austin, and the rising of his Son, King Ian, in previous chapters. But for now, the magic flickering in my enchanted quill requires that I cut to the chase, as it were. Chapter 1: It started as any other day, but the queasiness in my stomach and the dull ache in my skull was a portent that it wasn’t to be as such. My scrying bowl was bubbling with enough activity to wake me from a wonderful dream. As I leaned over it and chanted the words absent-mindly, I was startled to see the visions that were normally cloudy and murky suddenly crystal clear. Standing tall in the middle of a swarm of the walking dead was my arch-nemesis, the once human but now Lich, Ploog. As I struggled to widen my view and ascertain his precise location, I became clear that he had removed his spell of protection on purpose. He wanted to be found. Especially in a place where his power would be at it’s strongest. What was he up to, I wondered. Was he calling me to battle? Did he want a meeting? I wasn’t sure, but I prepared my pouch for either event. Before I could even concentrate on phasing to his location, the answer became clear. He wasn’t looking for me. He had far different plans. As they are prone to do, the mysterious Bane fell out of the shadows and confronted the Lich Lord with the same caviler attitude and disregard they have for all beings. Needless to say, Ploog was unimpressed. I barely had time to stand up before what looked to be the Bane Leader and his Druid subordinate were set upon by the legion of undead that were swarming around their Lord and rising up from the dark wet soil. In no time at all, the Bane’s emissaries were nothing more than a meal for the hungry zombies without the Lich raising a mere finger in anger. How powerful he has grown since I brought about his demise so long ago. I made a mental note to find and punish this necromancer and the witless fool who sought to raise the dead with ancient magic they knew nothing of. In the end, they paid the ultimate price anyway. Chapter 2: I leaned back in my chair and contemplated what I had just been witness to. Ploog was making himself vulnerable and taunting the Bane to come and get him. I sent a squire to fetch the King so I would not be the only one to see this. I watched as Ploog paced the cemetery and scratched his pet bats. It was obvious that that was only the first battle in the war. He had to be aware that the Bane would never stop coming for him. They would chip away at his defences with waves of shadowy single-minded warriors. They did and Ploog struck them down one by one. Even I started to worry about what might happen if he came for me with such determination. Ian patted my shoulder and assured me that as long as he wielded the Dragon-Stone Ring, the Lich would be kept at bay. In the light of the scrying bowl, a figure that I had long since dismissed emerged from the shadow. The skilful, if overly arrogant, wizard whom had been captured by the Bane appeared. Even Ploog could feel the power coursing through his hands as he approached. He had changed so much since his seizure. His skin was stark white and his eyes seemed to smoulder like a blacksmiths fire. Dressed in black enchanted robes and the inky presence of black magic, Ploog’s undead army was kept at bay. It was quite a sight to behold as these two magical warriors met each other on the field of battle. For more than a half hour, Dominus was able to batter the Lich Lord with eldritch magic while absorbing the lightning with a bitter grin. Almost without warning, Ploog revealed that he was merely toying with the wizard and unleashed his true power down upon the unsuspecting wizard with a gleeful smile. As mentally unstable as he is, Ploog still knew how to press an advantage and crush any resistance. Like that, it was over. Dominus, the thorn in the side of all of Oberin, was gone. Ian and I just stared at each other in disbelief. Could we have hoped for anything better? Was it true that Ploog had wiped the Bane off the face of our lands forever? If it was true, what was he truly capable of now? Our joy quickly turned to dread. What would happen next, would tax my skills to the bitter end and leave the world ripe for the taking. Chapter 3: When it was over, Ploog vanished in a puff of smoke, his carefree song and laughter fading into the wind. I went over my own protection spells just to gain some peace of mind. If Ploog was ready to come for my and mine, I would not be such easy prey as Dominus was. After a few weeks, I could find no sign in my scrying bowl of the Lich. He was back to protecting himself from viewing and my knowledge. I did notice that the edges of the bowl had turned to a black as dark as night. It was if blackness had entered the edges of the world. I didn’t know what it meant until it was too late. Instead, as luck would have it, one of the many rangers and creatures of the forest had given me enough information to discover that another one of the kingdom’s enemies had resurfaced. Auriel the Mad had chosen a cave south of Oberin City as a base of operations for his next diabolical plot. Most likely another raid on town by his friends the lizardmen. Of course, we would shake it off like so much lint and go about our lives. But, something strange happened to me. I don’t know if it was lingering admiration about the way Ploog handled his enemies or that I had been antsy for a battle of my own. In the end, I concluded that the citizens of Oberin City had been through enough over the years and it had to end here and now. I left the castle and went to confront Auriel. He never saw me coming. I was able to approach to within a few feet of him without my presence being felt. I called out to him and told him this madness had to stop. He twisted around and shot a cold hard stare with a twitching grin at me. Then he fired. The scrolls always depict the brave wizard or fighter standing proudly with his chest puffed out accepting the electricity of the lightning bolt with hardly a grimace. His face etched with grim determination as if the bolt was nothing more than water striking him from a waterfall. Let me correct that myth. Lightning bolts are extremely painful and one can lose feeling in all his extremities after just one. It takes a practiced hand to be able to cast any magic after being hit by such a force, which I did, numerous times. I had no idea why Auriel had chosen to fight to the bitter end. During combat, he was muttering to himself (in between curses about my parentage) about how this was all a mistake and how I should beg him for forgiveness. I shrugged it off and completed my task, secure in the knowledge that I was meting out justice long overdue. As I stood over the burnt and smoking corpse of the Mad Wizard, I could only feel pity for such a pathetic twisted figure. I did what had to be done, I said to myself. In his pouch, I found a crumpled up piece of paper. I tried to deduce the meaning of the words with little success. Something about how Ragnarak was nigh and how the Jester would steal the thorny crown while the dead would sing dirges in the dark. I dismissed it as the ramblings of a madman and started to dig the grave. While I dug deep into the ground and kicked his body into it, my mind couldn’t stop spinning his last words around and around. When I was finally able to connect the dots, it was too late. I cast the spell just in time to see that my late friends son friend spirit floating towards the Elysium Fields. How could I be so blind! Chapter 4: I nearly broke down. It was true. The enemy was amongst us the entire time. The tears of my broken heart would be my only refuge from now until I pass. Chapter 5: I confronted this Madness Personified and screamed the scream vengeance. His demeanor was calm as if I was nothing more than a sheep to his wolf. He giggled and pranced as I tried to reason in vein with him. He had stolen the ancient magic and was now prepared to steal the world. I only had one chance. If I struck him down quickly and without mercy, it would all be over. I failed. When the spirit is separated from the body there is a sense of confusion. The colors fade to a sick black and white world. Your body lies in a pile at your feet and you feel insubstantial and weak. When the giant claw sliced through my chest to tear my soul from its moorings, part of me was glad that the dragon’s stench never had time to reach my nostrils. Being imbued with enough black magic of my own, I was able to communicate with the Fool once known as Coco. With a wave of his hand, I was leashed to him like a pet. He explained that he had been behind the death of King Austin like a puppet master pulling the strings. His turning of Queen Lyrel was easy because her spirit was corrupt enough to begin with. The wildcard that had sent him over the edge was the coming of the Bane. I tried to tell him they were no longer a threat, but he was too far-gone. If the Bane would have just kept their nose out of my business, He sang, I would have conquered these lands and ruled at the head of the Sorcerer’s Council. He thanked me for slaying Ploog but cursed me for allowing Ian to live. I could think of nothing more than how the dark tide sweeping over the water in my scrying bowl was actually the wings of the darkest of dragonkind. From there on, we traveled across the lands together, him and I. At every stop, he would open a portal to their dimension allowing the foul beasts to escape and lay waste to everything in sight. One by one, every structure in the realm was burning with dragon flame. All the while, Coco laughed and made bad jokes. His mind was as broken as the lands now. While the isle of Carth burned, I was glad my ethereal body couldn’t feel the heat. I was sad that I was unable to cry at the devastation. While Coco was kicking a black dragon and pointing at a rock for him to stomp, I caught something out of the corner of my eye. A large glowing symbol of Lolth, the Spider-Queen, was forming a cylinder of light around a black figure in the ruins of the cemetery. When it reached its apex, it flickered away leaving only a burning red robe that was swept away by the hot acidic wind. I could only hope that was a figment of my own grief-stricken mind. If it wasn’t… Chapter 6: As I watched Coco destroy the great temple of Oberin, I was finally able to slip his grasp and escape to my hidden lair. I don’t think he cares about me anymore. The world is gone. I... too, am fading. I can only pray to the gods that other worlds will not fall to the same black fate. Perhaps they will have more insight and foresight than I. As I concentrate on my enchanted quill, I am looking at the final resting place of Coco. As I tried to warn him, once the dragons had enough numbers, they would overwhelm him, ring or not. He didn’t listen and they did. The dragons will eat and destroy the lands and leave behind a wasteland before going back into hibernation, awaiting the opportunity to destroy another world. As for me, I will try and continue writing the history of this world for others to read. Once done, I will use the last of my energy to cast this text into the dimensional ether and hope it falls into hands that will understand. Try not to forget the brave denizens of Oberin. Each and every one of them had their own particular story to tell and I wish I had the time to chronicle them all for you. Suffice to say, life here was worth living. I apologize for failing all of them and perhaps someday, they will forgive me. I leave you now. Well Met,  Seth  Grand Wizard and Unwitting Fool The End Category:Books and Texts